Still Walking

Well, it's December 7th. This time last year, I was still working on my Summer Project Application.

When I have hard days, I like looking back 6 months or a year in my journal just to see how far God has brought me; to remind myself that He is good all the time. I wanted to share some notes I took  this summer when our project director, Bob Fuhs, gave a talk about our new operating system, the Holy Spirit.

Part of my journal entry: Thursday June 9th, 2011.
"Don't live off the fumes of past victories of Summer Project. Summer Project doesn't change us. It's not about what's going on around me---it's about what's going on within me. The power of God changes us."

I feel so blessed to have Project friends here in Sac and also in Chico. Last week, I was able to spend a few days in Chico and it's crazy to think that when we're together, we could be any where else but Ocean City. Here's reality: I am a Sacramento State student and we are approaching finals week. It's coming up fast. Five days fast. Life is busy and if I'm really honest with myself, I don't take enough time out of my day to recharge my spirit with His Word.

The power of God has changed me. He will continue to change me until I meet Him someday in Heaven. I am blessed beyond measure. Let us not forget that this is about what He does inside of us, not around us.

Janae, Me, Katelyn, Kelly at Bidwell Park

Chico, CA

OCSP Reunion

Well hello there! This weekend, I've had the opportunity to come to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois for our Project reunion. It has been two months since we've been together and it's weird to think that our time apart is almost equivalent to the time we spent together.

These past two months have been filled with transitions, wrestling with the Lord, celebrating blessings and His goodness, schoolwork, hours with CRU at Sac State, and a whole bunch of other things. The lessons I learned on Project were just the tip of the iceberg. I have had to continually remind myself of what it means to be gentle, patient, kind, slow to anger, full of grace, righteous, intentional, and all other characteristics of Jesus. It is so good to come back to be together with the people who understand where you're coming from when talking about Project withdrawals. Plus, we've had the chance to worship together, explore Chicago, and share what God has been doing in our lives, campus, and families.

Today at church, we learned from Matthew 20 the difference of having a heart rooted in merit versus having a heart rooted in grace. Do I live my life expecting God to reward me abundantly? Is salvation enough for me? Am I grateful for what I have or am I envious of the way God blesses those around me?

I thought it was a great way to refocus my thoughts for the coming of the rest of my semester. What is my motivation? What am I expecting? How does this relate to the Gospel? Am I willing to surrender to His plan for my life and give up the plans I've created for myself?

Here's the thing: no matter how many miles separate us, our friendship is eternal because of the grace of Jesus. One day, we will all be reunited again, all 100 of us, worshipping the Lord. Nothing will be as sweet as coming together in Heaven. I still expect to keep in contact with others but having 60 of us all together in one place again is unlikely. Luckily, the Lord is faithful and we still have so much to look forward to.

Steps of Faith

We had 6,326 spiritual conversations; 3,096 Gospel presentations; and of those Gospel 

presentations, 394 people decided to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior!! 

Obviously, there was so much more to Project than just the numbers---but these are not numbers. Each step of faith represents a person-God's child. It is by grace that we are saved and are able to share this gift with others. 

The transition home has gone smoothly and school starts on Monday! I hope to keep a blog going through the school year. Why stop now? 

Titus 2:11 //For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.

We Came to Leave

Well, its my last day on Project and the house is a little somber. Most students left early this morning and another ten of us leave early tomorrow. The last few weeks of Project have been sweet to say the least. But this is the lil nugget we've been remembering: we came to leave.

We have been equipped with so much knowledge and experiences. If we stayed in this bubble, we would not be faithful with these experiences. We came to Project in order to leave and head back to our campuses to make an impact for the Kingdom. How cool is that?

It's 5:14pm and we're leaving the house at 3am. Peyton flies out at 6:20am, Nate and I at 7:44am, and Kevin at 8am. I think Eggert will be driving us to Philly. PS. I'm still not done packing. Typical!

I have yet to cry about leaving, and that really surprises me. This is what I'm holding onto: The Lord is incredibly beautiful and incredibly faithful. He will never stop pursuing my coworkers or any of us on Project. If we are unable to see each other before Heaven, we will still be able to be there for ETERNITY praising our Savior. That's real hope.

I land in Sacramento around 12:30pm tomorrow and I move straight into Jenkins. I am so stoked to dive straight into training! It's going to be exhausting (plus I caught a cold this weekend), but it'll help with the transition home. Please be praying for safe travels, my staff, and Jenkins residents. This summer has been a blast and I've learned so much. Thanks for your support....it's meant a lot to me!

This is the last song from worship last night. It really encompasses OCSP 2011.

Changed

Aaron Niequist

In Jesus’ name I’ve been changed, I’ve been filled, I’ve been found, I’ve been freed, I’ve been saved!

In Jesus’ blood I’ve been loved, I’ve been cleansed, And redeemed, and released, rearranged

But how can I show You that I’m grateful? You’ve been so generous to me. How can I worship more than 

singing? And live out Redemption’s melody.

I have been blessed – now I want to be a blessing I have been loved – now I want to bring love I’ve been invited – I want to share the invitation I have been changed – to bring change, to bring change

In Jesus’ name we are changed, we are called, We are chosen, adopted, and named!

In Jesus’ blood we are loved, we are healed, We’re forgiven and free of our shame!

We want to show You that we’re thankful Flooding Your world with hope and peace Help us to worship more than singing Giving Redemption hands and feet

We have been blessed– now we’re going to be a blessing We have been loved– now we’re going to bring love We’ve been invited– we’re going to share the invitation We have been changed– to bring change, to bring change We have been changed– to bring change, to bring change

Thank You for this new life, thank You for the invitation! God, we want to live it loud enough to shake the nations " in Your name!

We have been saved– we’re going to shout about the Savior We have been found– we’re going to turn over every stone We’ve been empowered– to love the world to Heaven We have been changed– to bring change, to bring change We have been changed– to bring change, to bring change We have been changed– to bring change, to bring change

It's for Everyone

I'm not even quite sure the number of times I've opened up my blog to write a new post. It has been more than a handful of times. I feel like there are so many good things to say, yet I can't figure out how to write it out!


So here's the thing. The Lord is good. All the time. The Lord is good.


One of my non-project related highlights was going to New York last Saturday. I had already been to New York on a family trip in elementary school and seeing the sights wasn't the best part. Get this: I got to see my brother! I hadn't seen Ian since Christmas and I'm not sure when I'll see him again. New York is the halfway point between Ocean City, NJ and Newport, RI. We met there for the day and I had a blast. I would love to post pictures, but it looks as though my pictures haven't been showing up on past blogs. I love my brother sooo much and I'm so thankful that I was able to spend time with him!

I only have two full weeks of project left and I'm having quite the opposite problem as I was having at the end of the semester. Before: It was hard to focus on school...trying to wait for project. Now: It's hard to not focus on school...

Regardless of how excited I am to go back to Sac State, I want to finish the summer well. I am humbled to say that this summer, God has rocked my life and my faith and trust in Him has multiplied. I feel so much more equipped to have a successful ministry in my life and have learned so much in order to better my relationships.

I want to leave you with this thought; The Gospel is for everyone. The Gospel is not only for people who do not know Jesus. We must preach the Gospel to ourselves daily...it shows us who we are, our true representation. Here's fact; God is holy. We are not. We must rely on His truths every day in order to be as effective as possible for what He has called us to do. The whole Bible reflects the Gospel-not just Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We are far too easily pleased. Are you living a life with eternity in mind?

The Gospel:

 1) God loves you and created you to know Him personally. He has a wonderful plan for your life.

2) People are sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love and plan.

3) Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for our sins. Through Him alone we can know God personally and experience God's love and plan.

4) We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love and plan. 

//And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 

-1 John 5:11-13.

A Little Taste of OC

Happy Fourth of July!!

My Action Group: Me, Jocelyn, Rebekah, and Lola.

My job once the staff leaves Friday is Action Group Leader

and I will have the privilege to disciple these three

beautiful ladies!

One of the many thunderstorms I've experienced this summer.

The Lord has been doing incredible things in my heart this summer. My heart for the lost has grown so much and it is so true that there are people who are desperate to hear the Gospel. I've learned a lot of what it looks like to have a personal ministry and I am stoked to head back to Sac State in the fall and impact my campus for eternity. 

I am so grateful for the grace that is extended to me daily from Jesus and for the acceptance I feel from this awesome community of brothers and sisters here. We are not meant to live the Christian life alone. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord is faithful and provides us with all we need--even if we are surprised by how that looks. 

Regardless of how homesick I may feel or how sad it will be to leave Project in a month, God has proven me wrong over and over again---He has provided friends that have made this transition so much easier and I know that I will have a great community back in Sacramento, too.

Our staff leaves at the end of the week and we will take over the responsibilities required to run Project. I will be an Action Group Leader. I am excited to see how the Lord will use me in the lives of Rebekah, Jocelyn, and Lola---and especially to see all that I can learn from them. Please keep the Project in your prayers as we make this transition!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Please also be praying for the East Asia Summer Project! Students from East Asia are having their second Summer Project---it is illegal for them to share their faith and we just pray that the Lord will protect them and will provide many opportunities for them to share.

I hope you're having an awesome week!!

Rewind!

Goodness gracious! As you can imagine, this past month has been filled with countless sweet life moments and I'd love to share some with you now. I cannot believe that a month of Project has flown by so quickly, but it makes sense when every Sunday I sit back and wonder where the heck the week went. 

I'm working 30+ hours each week and it has been so much fun! I have some new pet peeves of customers (please don't order with sunglasses on and it's OK if you yell your order to me...at least I could hear you). My coworkers are really what make my time at McDonald's such a blast. Please keep praying for the Ocean City McDonald's! 

Let me rewind to the first week of Project and retell the stories and events! I know my journal will come in handy for this.

Week One: Setting the Pace.

-We can run toward Jesus because we have nothing to hide. We can run to each other because we have nothing to prove. --Jill Fuhs

This week we really focused on what we wanted our summer to look like and really what we wanted the rest of our Christian walk to look like throughout our lives. This week also included my first days as an official McDonald's employee! We also learned that the Holy Spirit is our new Operating System as believers.

Week Two: Thirsting to Know Him.

-If it's anything but Christ, we are left thirsty. The beauty is, there's HOPE. He came forward to give us living water. Leave the old water jug behind...do not run back to the thing you hate! ~Ryan Berg.

As humans, we are broken! Regardless of the offer Jesus Christ extends to us, we run to our broken cisterns...those things we hate but we continue to run back to those things to find the source of living water. Ultimately, we end up thirsty once again. These can be anything: peer groups, gossip, sexual intimacy, academic pursuits, pride, etc! 

Bob Fuhs also spoke to us on the work of the Holy Spirit. "Lord I can't but you can."

Week Three: Killing the Giants.

-It is sweet to know Jesus. There is a spiritual reality that there are people being saved and people perishing. To many, we are the aroma of life. ~Alicia Penning.

This was a crazy week! I was blown away by all the Lord accomplished through us in one week. Every day, we were out sharing and killing our giants. Our goal was to have 5,131 spiritual conversations we ended up having 5,862! Isn't that incredible?? We also saw 213 people accept Christ that week.

Week Four: All for One.

-Together is better because we are better together. ~Adam Penning.

Together we have strength, synergy, security and shelter. Community and fellowship is so important to who we are! In a rope, there are many chords. We cannot pick out strands. Every person is vital in the body of Christ. 

We just finished up All for One week last night. The whole week was leading up to the staff vs. student softball game. SPOILER ALERT: we got creamed!

The week was really changed up as far as activities and scheduling went. One person would get a slip of paper with a clue on it and all 100+ of us would need to know it without texts, tweets, Facebook, or posters. On Thursday, only one girl and boy per house were allowed to wake up with an alarm clock. Imagine coordinating that! 

Wednesday, we had women's conference: Risking it all to follow our call. It was a great time getting dressed up, coming together as women, and just getting poured into and learning more of what it means to be a woman for the Lord. 

Other sweet victories:

-My mom came on Friday to visit! We got to spend the whole weekend together and I had a total blast! She just left this afternoon and I definitely am going to miss her (and the rest of my family and friends) for the next six weeks!

-My roommate Jocelyn ROCKS! It has been so much fun getting to know her. Today, we spent the lazy Sunday afternoon watching the Sandlot.

-I have also met so many other incredible people. The Lord has added so many beautiful Christian women to my life. 

-I'm going to a Phillies game on the 22nd with McDonald's coworkers!

-Every Tuesday night, we have extended time with the Lord. Hours of prayer, reflection, journaling, and listening is a great way to be filled. 

-A sponsor family from the church we attend adopted me, Amanda (UCLA) and Sharon (CAL POLY). There names are Bob and Marge and they're the cutest! They've been married for 54 years. They have been so gracious to us as hosts. We have dinner with them every Friday night. 

-I have been OBSESSED with the song "Give Me Faith" by Elevation Worship. I highly recommend looking it up.

-Getting mail is also a great thing. Thank you to those who have reached out!

Thank you so much for your continued prayers of support. I wish that the internet was more friendly and that I was able to post pictures on this post. Hopefully next time....and hopefully it won't be another month before I'm able to fill you in. Happy Fourth of July!